Ragtime Opening Avery Fisher Hall

[@johndalton3180]

Could there ever on Earth be better casting than Tyne Daly as Emma Goldman? Her line reading of "weeee" after "and there were 96 years to go," is sublime.

[@Erzlump]

It's perfection indeed!

[@jlmww]

Simple and somehow sublime.

[@johndalton3180]

@@jlmww She takes a nonsense word, and imbues it with so much meaning. I could write a couple paragraphs about the implication of it. It's really good writing, but an actor like Daly really kicks it over the goal posts.

[@jlmww]

@@johndalton3180 That "Weeee!" is an echo of what Evelyn Nesbitt yells on her entrance. I think Goldman is mocking her and the attention she undeservedly got by ironically repeating what she said. Tyne Daly handles it beautifully.

[@johndalton3180]

@@jlmww Yup. I knew that. That's part of what makes it so great. She says it with *just* the right amount of irony, mixed with contempt and amusement. It's a comment on Evelyn, a comment on American values, and basically Emma saying "buckle up for one hell of a ridiculous century!"

[@Fatdaddio]

Cut to 2018, Once on this Island reunited Lea, Norm, Phillip and Micheal Arden.

[@jddrew730]

Aherns and Flaherty, clearly!!

[@michaelwilliamybarra2409]

And also include Quentin Earl Darrington in the mix! He played Coalhouse in the 2009 Broadway Revival of Ragtime, and then he's Awge in the 2018 Once on This Island!

[@DavidRigano]

This is such a perfect opening number and this cast is so phenomenal, it brings tears to my eyes watching it.

[@johndalton3180]

The harmonies at the end are so rich. It's very movingly beautiful.

[@robertd.carver6240]

Is "Ragtime" the "Candide" of the 21st century? It's absolutely brilliant, musically and dramatically, but like it's predecessor from the mid-1950s has flopped twice on Broadway, yet has found a home in concert halls, opera houses and regional theaters.

[@alexwallace6120]

A few years ago,I saw it at a local community theater and it was wonderful! I really like the song"Back to before".

[@mgescuro]

It doesn't necessarily "flop." The show is a mega musical without an audience to support it as a mega musical. If you can strip it down, it can probably run longer due to better economics. But it's just not the same. A stripped down version ran on the West End not too long ago.

[@petradonovan5161]

@@mgescuro Pretty much a full production was done at The Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake in Canada some years ago and was mostly sold out of all of its performances from May until November. It was a beautiful production with standing ovations every night. I saw the original when it first opened in Toronto in the 1990's which blew the roof off the theatre with the original cast and the Shaw Festival production though slightly trimmed compared quite favourably.

[@williamoser5953]

I don't think that is an apt comparison. Candide with Hellman's book is a bit dry and by the time it got to Broadway, so much music that carried it forward had been lost that it was less than its best. In my opinion Hugh Wheeler's book pulls against Bernstein's phenomenal score but audiences seem to accept it alright. What Bernstein wrote does require full out opera voices so if done in an opera house it works well and less so in a theater setting without voices to do full justice to the demands of the music. Ragtime on the other hand is in my humble opinion the finest musical in the post British Invasion period (when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Les Miz and Miss Saigon dominated Broadway). It was written for Broadway voices . Opera voices are going to tip the delicate balances between the music and the acting required. I think that maybe the reason it hasn't proven to be a mega hit on Broadway is the huge dramatic panoply, difficult for some audiences to take all of it in. I saw a fine slightly reduced production at Asolo Rep in Sarasota Fl a few years back with a cast of only 17, scrambling in and out of parts both large and small and audiences seemed less overwhelmed. I still think the huge size of the original concept is fine but this production made an excellent case for a reduction. Either way it is in my top 25 greatest musicals of all times, just a masterpiece.

[@robertd.carver6240]

@@williamoser5953 I'm inclined to agree with your analysis. I simply posed the question to garner opinions from others, whether mavens or detractors of both operatic musicals. The original production of "Ragtime" had perhaps the best-staged opening number of any musical within memory. It would be difficult, in my estimation, to surpass it. Overall, however, I find the piece sags more than occasionally, whether through staging or writing. The two shows, as conceived and attempting to musicalize entire novels, rather than selecting the most significant moments, focusing more specifically on fewer characters, whether by McNally, Ahrens and Flaherty or by Bernstein, Wilbur, Latouche, Parker, Hellman, etc., as well as directors, choreographers, designers, were both perhaps a trifle too ambitious. The casts of both, on the other hand, were all splendid, at least the first time out. No play--or, in this case, musical--is either director-proof or actor-proof, not even Shakespeare! I've seen some effing ghastly productions of the Bard's works! BTW, I attended two performances of the Prince-Birch production at New York City Opera, which restored some of the songs cut from their Broadway version, with of course operatic voices and a new design team whose proscenium-stage work--especially the backdrop for "Make Our Garden Grow"--paid appropriate tribute to Voltaire's globetrotting vision. Patty's choreography for "The Paris Waltz" was both grandiose and hilariously funny and Prince's use of "stagettes" for more intimate scenes with isolated lighting was spot-on.

[@ashareeoo]

GOD this musical! I love the cheers. I wish discrimination would be in the past already.

[@claytonbrown22]

That black lady conducting that ochestra was gettin it tho - I LOVED IT

[@suhseal]

Lea Salonga as MOTHER!!!

[@aang234]

This video brings back so many great memories. Being in this production was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Thanks for the upload!

[@benrife9440]

Since you were in it (very well done, by the way), do you know if an audio or video recording of the full performance exists? Unfathomable that someone wouldn't have thought to save a version of it.

[@adamlawlor3391]

The Diction!!!!!!!! I'm in heaven 😍

[@petradonovan5161]

Is there a full video tape of the concert? It looks brilliant!!!

[@gabbiealvia4561]

OMG ITS KERRY BUTLER AS EVELYN AND LEA AS MOTHERR !!!! REVIVAL NOW PLEASE BROADWAYYY AND HOUDINI'S ENTRANCE ICONIC.

[@oscarphile]

Both former Eponines from Les Miserables, which has nothing to do with any of this, it's just a fun fact.

[@WarRoom92]

I really want to see "Parade" done like this...

[@andygranick]

This makes my heart so happy.

[@rarnayro]

In my mind, musicals come in different categories. There are "Triple Threat" shows. There are "Dancer" driven shows. Then there is the "Singer's Musicals". "Les Miz" and "Ragtime" are such musicals. You'd better have the chops to pull off the singing!

[@Maria_Efe]

Oh my gosh, what a cast!

[@joechan4356]

Thanks so much for uploading! Ragtime is one of my favorite musicals. Do you have the rest?

[@TobyGoTv]

I am here for Lea Salonga!

[@keyonwoodswjj387]

Ive never seen a black woman conduct an orchestra before! What's her name?! BLESS

[@ndemone]

Sheilah Walker. She was our conductor in LA, VANCOUVER CHICAGO and THE TOUR. She is AMAZING! She steers a tight ship!

[@thatperformer3879]

Keyon Woods Does everything with you people have to be about race?

[@MelanieNLee]

@@thatperformer3879 Unfortunately, yes. When you've been historically excluded from many positions and fields, it matters when someone breaks through. I wrote this several years ago: August 12, 2016 I heard on TV that Simone Manuel doesn't want to be labeled the "first African-American Olympic gold medalist in swimming", but wants to be known just as a swimmer. I see where she's coming from, but I don't agree with her. Here's why: I wrote this back in 2010 about an Africanic Olympic medalist at the Vancouver games. facebook.com/notes/melanie-lee/the-first-black-hope-and-why-it-matters/345310560644

[@MelanieNLee]

As an amateur choir singer in NYC in the 1980s, I got to work with, and observe, a up-and-coming Black female conductor named Tania Leon. She would conduct with her whole body, bending forward, waving her arms--she was practically dancing as she conducted! She was a thrill to work with. I've seen her on TV a couple of times, too. Unfortunately, I haven't followed her career, so I don't know where she is now.

[@keyonwoodswjj387]

Melanie Lee thank you!

[@Is7688]

I was in this!:))

[@emmarose7738]

I was there! :D

[@tsotry1842]

SLAY MY LIFE MICHAEL ARDEN

[@johndalton3180]

Never seen the show. Does the rest of the show live up to this utterly spectacular opening number?

[@petradonovan5161]

Absolutely...Amongst many wonderful numbers another favourite is New Music and especially Back To Before. It is imho one the best scores ever written for the musical stage.

[@nicoleb581]

New music, til we reach that day, he wanted to say, success. All amazing numbers.

[@clownfromclowntown]

Yes it does! I can’t recommend listening to the full musical enough. It’s my favorite of all time.

[@johndalton3180]

@@clownfromclowntown Thank you, Clown. I'll check it out.

[@RyanSmith-zh8hi]

I would kill to see this production

[@brianeduardo1234]

Looks great.. pity the sound was not better... I love Ragtime

[@11267Johnboy]

I've seen it on Broadway (original cast) and Kennedy Center (revival). it never disappoints. I wish all musicals had to live up to this standard. I won't pay $300 a ticket for what they call entertainment on Broadway now. I'd rather go see shows on London's west end.

[@billfisher6464]

Matt Cavanaugh and Jerod Emick and so underused on Broadway. good to see them here.

[@m4giceyetr1x]

Any chance of you having a video of Lea Salonga singing Back to Before?

[@suhseal]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3ukZ4CwZayghdU

[@oscarphile]

Oh, PLEASE, tell me there is surviving video footage somewhere of Kerry singing Crime of the Century.

[@oscarphile]

WOW!!! Who are these actors? They're FANTASTIC!!! I recognized a few, like Norm Lewis as Coalhouse, Lea Salonga as Mother, Tyne Daly as Emma Goldman, and Kerry Butler as Evelyn Nesbitt, but I'm drawing blanks on the others, even though they're all good and some of them appear to be very well-known by this audience, who are applauding when many of them enter. Can anyone help me out here?

[@oscarphile]

And is that Petina Miller as Sarah?

[@henryleeactorsinger]

Howard McGillin is Father and Michael Arden is Brother!

[@henryleeactorsinger]

And Raúl Esparza as Tata!

[@henryleeactorsinger]

AND Jose Llana as Houdini.

[@MadameCorgi]

:Michael Arden as Younger Brother, Phillip Boykin as Booker T. Washington, Kerry Butler as Evelyn Nesbit, Matt Cavenaugh as Henry Ford, Tyne Daly as Emma Goldman, Jarrod Emick as Willie Conklin, Manoel Felciano as Tateh, Dick Latessa as Grandfather, Norm Lewis as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Jose Llana as Harry Houdini, Michael McCormick as J.P. Morgan, Howard McGillin as Father, Patina Miller as Sarah, Lea Salonga as Mother and NaTasha Yvette Williams as Sarah's Friend

[@brdtech]

thanks for posting this. do you have any more clips from the concert?

[@maddiemaccheese8170]

Am I crazy, or is the girl at 3:40 Little Red from Disney's Into The Woods movie?? Good for her!!!

[@dukeofrodtown1705]

No, you're not! That's Lilla Crawford, who originated the role of Annie in the most recent Broadway revival of that musical - she was awesome as the Little Girl and as Little Red, indeed!

[@jamieshari4566]

is there a full recording of this?

[@Nessa24601]

MICHAEL ARDEN

[@jddrew730]

He was AMAZING (I was there) but, omg watching this again...his pants...perfection!

[@Pastadudde]

@@jddrew730 you're so lucky. it's sad that he's basically retired from being a performer nowadays, he has a beautiful voice.

[@rocknroll20024]

Love him

[@newname34695]

7:00 i like that the clicks of the camera make a sort of beat during the pause here.

[@noniejaner106]

Is Leah Salonga?😍 i never knew she was on ragtime

[@dukeofrodtown1705]

Yes, that's her as Mother. She was fantastic here, and in this production overall. One of the best Filipino actresses ever to tread the boards and grace our screens.

[@tiffanyheartsu7271]

Is the little girl Lilla Crawford? (red riding hood in Into the Woods)

[@jordannickel-dubin9851]

Yes

[@MadameCorgi]

And Annie

[@LaurenPruittMusic]

I saw the thumbnail and I was like Only one girl can be in three iconic shows (Into The Woods, Annie, and Ragtime)

[@jbwayboy]

Who were you?

[@officialmichaelcarrasco]

umm...

[@TheMaviene]

...yes?